Dear Paul,
How do you account for the decline in total black population between the 1830 and 1840 counts?
Kevin
Kevin R. C. Gutzman, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Coordinator
Department of History
Western Connecticut State University
Author, James Madison and the Making of America (cloth: St. Martin's Press, 2012; paper: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013);
Who Killed the Constitution? (with Thomas E. Woods, Jr.) (cloth: Crown Forum, 2008; paper: 2009);
Virginia's American Revolution (Lexington Books, 2007);
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution (Regnery Publishing, 2007).
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Finkelman, Paul
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 1:49 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th [or 19th] century will -- very long resoponse
Dear Ms. Goldberg:
Let's start here. It was UNCOMMON for southern whites to ever free their slaves -- except perhaps in Maryland and Delaware. In 1790 there were about 8,800 slaves in Delaware and 3,400 free blacks; by 1860 there were only 1,800 slaves and about 19,900 free blacks. Maryland had 103,000 slaves in 1790 and 8.000 free blacks and in 1860 there were 87,200 slaves and about 84,000 free blacks. So in both states you have substantial manumissions over the 70 year period -- more so in Del. than anywhere else.
Now lets look at Virginia.
First the law. In 1782 Virginia allowed masters to free slaves and allowed those free blacks to stay in the state (there were exceptions for very old and very young slaves and some other requirements, but basically masters were able to free slaves if they wanted). This law was on the books until 1805. This led to a significant growth in the free black population, which *as a percentage of the population* grew faster than the slave population or the white population from 1780 to 1810.
There were an estimated 2,000 free blacks in the state in 1780 (we don't have a good census figure). In 1790 there were 12,250 free black and by 1810 (5 years after the law had been repealed) there were about 30,250 free blacks in the state. This is a huge percentage growth. But, the slave population in this period went from 288,000 in 1790 to 384,000 in 1810 -- a substantial growth. MOST masters are NOT freeing slaves; only a few are.
From 1806 until 1852 Virginia had a number of different laws on private manumission (I can send you cites if you want), that allowed some masters to free their slaves. But most did not. The numbers bear this out.
Year Free blacks Slaves
1820 37,000 412,000
1830 47,000 454,000
1840 49,000 432,000
1850 51,250 452,000
1860 55,250 473,000
In 1852 Virginia completely prohibited newly freed black from staying in the state.
The slave figures show relatively little grown over the century because over a hundred thousand (100,000) Virginia slaves were sold South in the 19th century [someone may have a good number for that, I do not have one handy].
So, rather than free slaves, huge numbers of white Virginians were selling their slaves South. Being sold meant being cut off -- usually Forever -- from family and friends.
So, the answer to your big question is a resounding NO. Most Virginians did not free their slaves. We have few examples of those that did. I have written about some of them in Paul Finkelman, SLAVERY AND THE FOUNDERS: RACE AND LIBERTY IN THE AGE OF JEFFERSON (3rd edition, M.E. Sharpe, 2014). Famous ones include Robert Carter, III -- Better known as Robert "Councillor" Carter, George Washington (in his will), John and Robert Pleasants, and John Randolph of Roanoke who freed his slaves (over 300) in his will and had them transported to Ohio. Robert Coles, who was Madison's private secretary, took his 20-30 slaves to Illinois and freed them there because the VA law did not allow in-state manumission.
Your slaveowner was unusual simply because he freed his slaves. Bravo to him. And generous in that he provided money to transport them -- but that was necessary since in 1818 they could not have stayed in VA, although in 1819 a law would have allowed the slaves or the executor of the will to petition the county court for the right to stay in the state.
Between 1805 and 1819 there were private manumissions and it seems likely that some former slaves were allowed to stay in the state despite the repeal of the 1805 law.
I hope this helps.
Feel free to contact me off list if you need more information.
*************************************************
Paul Finkelman
Senior Fellow
Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism University of Pennsylvania and Scholar-in-Residence The National Constitution Center Philadelphia, PA
518-439-7296 (p)
518-605-0296 (c)
[log in to unmask]
www.paulfinkelman.com
*************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history On Behalf Of Rita Goldberg
Sent: Wednesday, 03 September, 2014 5:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-HIST] Help interpreting 18th century will
This is a request for help understanding two aspects of a will that was filed in Richmond in 1818.
1. The gentleman in question frees several slaves and allows them to stay in the homes where they were living until these homes are sold as part of his estate. He also provides for a yearly amount ranging from $40-$150 to be paid to each of these individuals. In addition, he provides assistance if, because of the law, these freed slaves were not allowed to live in Virginia.
My question is: Was it normal at the time for slave owners to free some or all of their slaves when they died? Are the provisions in the will normal or do they seem especially generous?
2. The gentleman leaves amounts ranging from $2000 to $8000 to a series of women, most of them married but some not. Since several of these woman were well known in Richmond society, it's hard to imagine that they had all been lovers of the gentleman and that he would speak of them so openly in his will. Does anything you know about Richmond society of the time provide a clue as to the significance of these generous clauses?
I'd be very appreciative of any ideas that could help explain these two points in the 1818 will.
Rita Goldberg
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
